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This news article from the Times and Transcript newspaper(based in Moncton,New Brunswick,Canada) came out today.

The article is titled “Accused in python deaths case appears in court” –written by Tim Jaques of The Tribune from Campbellton,New Brunswick,Canada.

Jean-Claude Savoie, accused of criminal negligence causing the death of two Campbellton boys in 2013,appeared in the court of Queen’s Bench in Campbellton on Thurs day to listen to a pretrial motion in the case brought against him.

The motion,however,is subject to a sweeping pretrial publication ban that forbids publication not only of any mention of what evidence was tendered and what was argued, but also what the motion is for and any reasons for the judge’s decision, prior to the conclusion of the case.

Information released to the media by RCMP immediately after the deaths alleged that a 45-kilogram African rock python escaped an enclosure in Savoie’s apartment in Campbellton during the early morning hours of August 5,2013. Connor,6, and Noah,4, were in the apartment on a sleepover visiting Savoie’s son.

RCMP said at the time that they believe the snake asphyxiated the boys as they slept.

Savoie owned an exotic pets business downstairs from the apartment,called ReptileOcean,which did not reopen after the incident.

The Department of Natural Resources with the assistance of outside experts seized animals,mostly reptiles,from the scene.

Savoie,who is living in the Montreal area,had not been present at previous court hearings.

He sported long hair and a short beard,wore a blue shirt and jeans,and appeared to be listening attentively from his front row seat. He entered and left on the lobby elevator with his lawyers,whose office is in the courthouse building.

The boys’ parents, Mandy Trecartin and Andrew Barthe,were not present,but their grandparents,Ernest and Linda Barthe,listened from a second-row seat.

The motion did not conclude on Thursday as scheduled,and will resume Friday at 1:30 pm. it is likely that Justice Ferguson will reserve any decision.

The case is scheduled for a judge-and-jury trial from Oct. 31 to Nov. 10.

This news article from the Times and Transcript newspaper(based in Moncton,New Brunswick,Canada) came out today.

The article is titled “Motion in Barthe deaths case next Thursday” written by Tim Jaques of The Tribune from Campbellton ,New Brunswick, Canada.

A pre-trial motion will be heard next week in the case of 39 y/o Jean-Claude Savoie ,charged with criminal negligence causing the 2013 deaths of Noah and Connor Barthe of Campbellton.

Accdg. to the current court docket,the defence motion,which had been originally been scheduled for several days,is now set for only one day,Thursday,April 28, in the Court of Queen’s Bench in Campbellton starting at 9:30 am,before Justice Frederick P. Ferguson.

Savoie’s lawyer,Les Matchim of Campbellton,has declined to speak to the nature of the motion because of a pre-trial publication ban in effect governing the evidence that will be used on the motion. However, the motion hearing itself is open to the public.

Scheduled to appear for the crown is Pierre F. Roussel.

In January,the dates for the trial had been set for Sept. 12 to 23,but the RCMP announced in a press release on Feb. 15 that in order to accommodate witnesses the date for the judge-and-jury trial was been put over to run from Oct. 31 to Nov. 11.

Savoie,who has not been present for previous court hearings and is not expected to be present on Thursday,was charged in March 2015. Information given to the media by RCMP immediately after the deaths alleged that a 45-kg African rock python escaped an enclosure in Savoie’s apartment during the early morning hours of Aug. 5,2013. Connor,6, and Noah,4, were in the apartment on a sleep over visiting Savoie’s son, and it was alleged that the snake asphyxiated the boys as they slept.

The apartment was situated above his Campbellton exotic pet business,ReptileOcean,which has since closed. The exotic animals in the store and apartment,which were mainly reptiles,were seized by the dept. of National resources with the assistance of outside experts including Bruce Dougan of the Magnetic Hill Zoo in Moncton..

Most of the creatures were parcelled out to zoos across North America,and the Magnetic Hill Zoo got two large Sulcata or African spurred tortoises. However 4 large alligators kept in the building’s basement had to be euthanized,as no zoo would take them.

The building remains vacant.

The unusual facts surrounding the deaths drew considerable international media attention to Campbellton in the weeks following the discovery of the boys’ bodies.